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Vancouver riot: stupid young men

Let's not blame the game of hockey and its fans for the riot that followed the Vancouver loss in the Stanley Cup Final. Or make the predictable mumbo-jumbo excuses of socioeconomic factors at work.

Who did we see fighting, vandalizing and looting in the flood of images stream last night on TV and the internet?

Let's be clear and forget about being politically correct. Well-fed, well clothed and well lubricated with alcohol, drugs and testosterone ... stupid, young men.

We all knew, regardless of who would win or lose the Cup, that game 7 was going to be a siren call for every stupid, young man across B.C. (and further abroad) to gather and wait for the moment that gave them the opportunity to riot.

Some blame has to be laid at the feet of the organizers who thought that concentrating huge crowds that contained large masses of young males around big screen TVs in a downtown venue right by an arena with 19,000 fans that would spill out on the streets after the game was over was a good idea. In the days, week and months to come there will be a lot of recriminations, excuses and soul search but stupid, young men have always been with us in every society and every age of history just waiting for a chance act out.

The riot was the mindless but predictable tantrum of stupid, young men that should not be a stain on the city and citizens of Vancouver but sadly will.

Lest other Canadian cities think smugly that the riot was a unique, West Coast phenomena, you are all one Stanley Cup final series away from the same events unfolding.